Courtesy of Natural Artistry Photography

When we launched Positive Business DC, Donna, Shannon and I wanted to create a resource to help people raise their level of well-being by providing evidence-based research in positive psychology and neuroleadership. And so, we launched the Well-being in The Workplace speaker series. Last week, I featured Natural Artistry in my weekly column for Modern DC Business magazine. As Meetup members Andrew Murdock, Kimba Green, and Cindy Alderton shared their story, I realized that our Meetups are having a much more profound impact than perhaps we realized.

Andrew is the owner of Natural Artistry Photography in Frederick, MD. His style strays from the conventional by focusing in on moments when people connect on a fundamentally human level. The vulnerability he’s able to capture and the stories his photos tell reach out and grab your attention. He took photos of the October event and generously let us post them. (Personally, I think the camera is super-glued to his hand and he’d have withdrawal symptoms if removed.)

Scratching The Creative Itch for A Purpose

Doug Hensch, our guest speaker at the October Meetup, shared the 5-1/2 Secrets of Resilient Entrepreneurs. One of Andrew’s takeaways: The desire to find deeper fulfillment in work. After thinking about what that meant to him personally, he decided to give back to the community. Not being handy with a hammer or power tools, Andrew picked up the camera and offered professional quality images of local events. The idea was to provide an alternative to the photos people took with their Smartphones.

This one, seemingly small thing embedded the people from Natural Artistry into the community in a deeper, more meaningful level and business started to skyrocket. 

Big, Hairy, and Audacious

No, not Andrew… but the goals for Natural Artistry. At our second Meetup in January, Caroline Adams Miller shared insights about how setting unrealistic goal relates to happiness and the über success that comes from setting one’s sights really, really high. Andrew brought their marketing guru, Kimba that night. Now, barely more than two months later, the big hairy goal for 2014—becoming a photo agency—is already happening. Cindy Alderton, an exceptional photographer in her own right, has recently joined the team. Natural Artistry plans to continue bringing photographers that share their zest for “anti-business business photography” and quirky sense of humor into the agency. They’re also about to move into a studio with equipment that will enable Natural Artistry to take any shot one can dream up.

Research shows that people who seek fulfillment at work or set unrealistic goals vastly improve their levels of professional success.

So, what about this year’s goal? It’s still in the works. Andrew wants his photos to be published in a national magazine. He’s turned the studio’s business model upside down. Rather than waiting for orders to come in or offering the same services similar to other photographers or studios, Natural Artistry likes to propose ideas that will help clients grow their businesses. In their words, “It becomes a symbiotic relationship, really a partnership of sorts. We share the same business goals, personal beliefs, and values and build upon them by discovering common goals.”

Fulfillment + Goals = Growing, Vibrant Business

Courtesy of Natural Artistry Photography

Offering a service to the community proved to also be a good business practice because it provided unexpected exposure for Natural Artistry’s work. Andrew found the fulfillment he sought by providing community service. While community service may seem like a counterintuitive way to grow a business, positive returns are not an uncommon phenomenon when you do something constructive—and without strings—for others.

To begin, the studios’s goal was simple: Ensure that everyone in Frederick, MD see the Natural Artistry logo at least once a week, whether the shot was of a friend or familiar place. Shooting photos without charging for them gave the photographers full artistic license.

“Other photographers (and businesses) box themselves in. They look at what other people are doing and think that they need to do the same thing. They might be making money at it, but do they really get fulfillment from doing the same thing others are doing? Copying the work of someone else is not rewarding,” notes Andrew. “The people at Natural Artistry have a restless desire to grow. What we’re doing today is not what we’re going to be doing tomorrow. We’re a moving target, so any other photographer who tries to emulate and copy us is in for a shock.” Their attitude, combined with all of the local exposure, had captured the attention of ad agencies and local publications, positioning a small town photo studio into an agency that has the potential to work with national magazines.

If attending the Positive Business DC Meetup has helped you improve your level of well-being, we’d love to hear your story! Please seek Donna, Shannon, or me out at during the networking session at Canvas on April 24. Registration open soon.

Photo Courtesy of Natural Artistry Photography.

The people who attended the January 31 Positive Business DC Meetup at Teqcorner understand why unrealistic goals produce far greater fulfillment than the goals we typically set. Caroline Adams Miller gave several very powerful examples of how unrealistic goals are not only attainable—they also set the stage for achieving remarkable things that change a person’s life in unexpected and ultra rewarding ways. Surprisingly, only 20% of people set challenging goals.

How does Caroline approach goal setting differently from other life coaches? For one thing, she holds a MAPP (Master’s in Applied Positive Psychology) from the University of Pennsylvania. Caroline was one of the first people to go through the program. In doing so, she conducted the foundational research on the intersection of goals and happiness. Caroline discovered that a lot of what we’ve previously been led to believe about goals are, in fact, urban legends. Her scientifically-based work changes the dynamics of personal goal setting in an extraordinary way.

For full disclosure, I’m still working on the exercises in Chapter 1 of Creating Your Best Life: The Ultimate Life List Book. You know what? I’m already motivated to do things differently. For example, I have an opportunity to go to China in 2014 with a colleague and have no clue how to fund the trip. Last week this the trip was on the ‘wish list.’ Now, I’m not only going to make it happen, I’m planning to make it an integral part of where I’m taking my consulting practice. Of course, I still have to figure out how. I expect a difference in attitude will turn my desire to go on this trip from a wish into an experience of a lifetime that will transform the way people view scientific discovery.

We know from the active discussion after the Meetup (and on the site) that several other attendees felt inspired by the ideas Caroline shared. My favorite tidbit of the evening? All success in life is preceded by happiness. What’s yours?

Caroline… A heartfelt ‘thank you’ for coming out to to share your expertise with us and giving us a new perspective. Thank you also to Andrew Murdock for taking photos of the Positive Business DC Meetup. If you’d like to see the photos, please visit Natural Artistry Photography.

Stay tuned for our next Meetup. Our goal is 100 registrants or bust! We can make that goal with your help:-)